Page 75 of Whispers of the Deep

“More than anything.”

He lifted her then, and she reached for the belly of the stingray above her. She swore it smiled when she touched the soft skin and slight pudge there before it changed its direction and another took its place.

Giggles erupted from her mouth. She couldn’t stop the sounds of happiness that burst out of her skin and bubbled out of her mouth. They were so adorable! Gliding this way and that, they coasted throughout the ocean without a whim. Perhaps they were going to some feeding or mating grounds or birthing areas. But where they were going didn’t matter.

The fact that they didn’t mind her being here, among them, made her feel more accepted than her own kind had in years.

At some point, Arges turned them away from the fever of rays. He tucked her into his arms again, safe and sound from anything that might find them. They moved slower, and she had the time to look up and see angry gray clouds overhead.

“So it does still storm,” she mused. “The tales I have always heard are that the land became uninhabitable. There were so many storms and volcanoes and treacherous waves. People had to run from the very weather, and we couldn’t get off this planet, so we had to figure out a new way to live.”

“There are still many storms. The gods above are always angry,” he replied. “I have only been to the surface a few times. Curiosity in a young mind can be a dangerous thing. There is much up there that I suspect your people no longer know. But the storms are still deadly. The sea tries to take back the land, and the land fights in return.”

She supposed that was a rather simplistic way of looking at the very complicated weather patterns that had almost destroyed this planet. “We call them hurricanes. And tsunamis.”

“So your people know of the sea’s desire to take back the rest of your planet?”

“We know the land is uninhabitable because of these storms, and that flooding had taken a lot of what we would consider liveable land. There will always be mountains to live on top of, but from what they said in my school, apparently the storms were so strong that the higher people went, the harder it was to live.”

It was a shame. Someday, she would love to know what it felt like to stand on land and have infinite air. To experience an unending amount of air and dirt that stretched as far as the eye could see.

“I will take you someday,” he said quietly, his voice pitched so low she almost didn’t hear him. “Everyone deserves to see where they come from. At least once.”

Mira couldn’t stop herself. She hugged him around the waist, twining her arms around his thick form in the hopes that he understood how much his offer meant to her. “You’ve already shown me so much, Arges. You’ve gifted me the sea in ways I never even dreamt of. How could I ask you to show me the land as well?”

He didn’t reply, but she wondered if he wanted to say he would give her anything.

Because that was exactly how she was feeling right now.

Together, they meandered through the currents until she saw the dome ahead. Mira was shocked at the sadness that blasted through her body. Partly because she knew she had to get out of the water, and partly because he would leave her. He always left, and every time it became harder and harder to say goodbye to him.

Maybe he felt the same way. Because he took a very long time bringing her underneath the moon pool and even more time letting go of her once they were back inside the dome.

His hands lingered on her hips even as he placed her on the edge of the metal rim. Her dress clung to her skin, but she suddenly wanted to rip it off in the hopes that maybe he would stay.

Even if it meant that maybe he would linger out of her line of sight, he would still see her.

Water dripping down her nose, she ripped her rebreather off and stared at him. Finally, she couldn’t take it. Because he already had that look in his eyes that meant he was leaving and she... she... “I don’t want you to go.”

He froze in front of her before quietly asking, “What did you say?”

“I don’t want you to go,” she repeated. “I don’t like being here alone. Without you.”

“You have your metal box to speak with.”

“It’s not the same.” She swallowed, realizing that one of them would have to be the brave one. She knew he had feelings for her, and she did as well.

Even though her mind screamed they couldn’t do this. That no undine and human could ever be together, in any way. She felt like it was important to get the words out. Even if they were hard.

Placing her hands over his at her waist, she decided that if one of them had to be brave, it would be her. “I prefer my time with you, Arges. Much more than anyone else I’ve ever met in my life. I want to know everything about you, even if those discoveries come without words.”

Surely, he understood what she was saying. His black eyes searched hers, and then his hands spasmed against her hips. “Kairos, I believe there are perhaps some translation difficulties regarding what you just said.”

“There are no translation issues.” She lifted her hands and placed them on his shoulders, toying with the edges of his gills. “I think you should know that I want you. I find you strangely beautiful, and though that has plagued me for quite some time, I feel that now perhaps it is the right time for me to tell you.”

“Why now?” he rasped, his voice guttural and deep.

“I don’t know,” she replied. “I can’t think of any reason why I’ve waited this long, and I can’t think of a reason why I couldn’t wait longer. This moment felt right, and perhaps it wasn’t. But I wish to know more about you, and I have wanted to touch you for a very long time.”

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